Spice Up Our Love review: A cheeky K-drama spin-off that’ll leave you craving more

Most K-dramas don’t get a spin-off featuring the second couple, but No Gain No Love breaks the mould. Its spin-off, Spice Up Our Love, zooms in on the love story of the second leads, Nam Ja-yeon (Han Ji-hyun) and Bok Gyu-hyun (Lee Sang-yi). And, trust me, it’s a fun ride!
The story kicks off with a clever twist: Nam Ja-yeon, the younger sister of Son Hae-young, is a successful webtoon writer who brushes off online haters like crumbs from a biscuit. But, one fine day, she stumbles upon a particularly harsh comment that hits too close to home. Rather than shrugging it off, she decides to sue the troll — who turns out to be none other than her sister’s boss, Bok Gyu-hyun.
Feeling guilty, Gyu-hyun writes an apology letter, though he only knows her by her pen name, Yeon Bo-ra. But Ja-yeon, still scarred by the trauma it triggered, isn’t ready to forgive. She wants revenge — or so she says, telling Gyu-hyun she’d rather see him dead. When Gyu-hyun’s attempt to recover the discarded letter ends in a dramatic accident (sort of), Ja-yeon faints, overcome by the weight of her words.
Things get even weirder when she wakes up in a hospital — not as Ja-yeon, but as Seo Yeon-soo, the female lead of her own webtoon. What’s more, her romantic interest in the webtoon, Ha-jun, doesn’t look like the person she had based him on. Instead the character now has Gyu-hyun’s face. So, does she fall for him again, or does she chase the shadow of her first love? Drama, drama, drama!
With just two episodes, Spice Up Our Love focusses squarely on Ja-yeon and Gyu-hyun. By the time the second episode ends, you’ll be left wanting more — especially if you loved the second leads in No Gain No Love. Lee Sang-yi and Han Ji-hyun deliver standout performances. Both Ji-hyun and Sang-yi have carved their own niche with their dramas like Penthouse, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, and Youth of May. Bring them together and their chemistry here is electric. Ji-hyun effortlessly switches between the quirky Ja-yeon and the sultry Yeon-soo, while Sang-yi matches her step for step, bringing his own quirky charm to the table. And let’s not forget the OST, A World for Us — it adds just the right touch of emotion to Gyu-hyun’s heartfelt confessions. Just in case you didn’t know, Sang-yi has sung the OST.
If you’ve only seen No Gain No Love and thought Ja-yeon’s behaviour towards Gyu-hyun was a bit inconsistent after she woke up, well, this spin-off fills in the blanks. Suddenly, everything makes sense, doesn’t it?
The show’s highlights? Well, the soy sauce and sausage scenes will have you realising the depth of the drama for sure. The only downside is the short runtime — just two episodes didn’t do justice to the character arcs, leaving some emotional beats under-explored. The ending, especially, felt a bit too rushed, as if there were still a few more layers to peel back. Also, it wasn’t as ‘spicy’ as we thought it would be.
All in all, Spice Up Our Love is a fun and cheeky spin-off that’s well worth the watch. It’s got heart, humour, and a touch of that meta storytelling we’ve come to love in K-dramas like Extraordinary You and W. While it’s not perfect, it definitely spices things up and makes for a memorable addition to the 2024 K-drama line-up. Just a shame we didn’t get a few more episodes to dive deeper into this quirky love story!